A side-splitting look at sport

Reduced Shakespeare Comapny, The Complete World of Sports (abridged), Exeter Northcott, Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th June

By Jenna Richards

The country is gripped by sport fever – Euro 2012 is on the TV, preparations are being made for Wimbledon and there is the small matter of the imminent London Olympics – what better time to take a hilarious journey through The Complete World of Sports (Abridged) with the Reduced Shakespeare Company at Exeter Northcott.

This marathon of mayhem and madness was a side-splitting race to the finish taking in sports from boxing to bog snorkelling, table tennis to toe wrestling and everything in between.

With immense stamina and speed the three-man comedy troupe (Reed Martin, Matt Rippy and Austin Tichenor) answered those burning sports related questions such as: What does NASCAR stand for? Why do Americans insist on calling it a world series when only they compete? Which is more boring baseball or cricket? Who invented wife carrying and cheese rolling? Why aren’t they in the Olympics?

The sometimes slapstick comedy had the audience in stitches. Both the young boy seated in front of me and the old lady beside guffawed loudly throughout the show and my boyfriend giggled like a girl. The humour was pitched perfectly for a family audience, with some jokes especially for the adults and plenty to amuse the kids.

As we journeyed across continents and through the history of sport “from then to now,” the trio were quite happy to deviate from the script often with hysterical consequences.

Rapid wit, inventive characters, zany props and some audience participation thrown in for brilliant comic effect made this a must see show – even for non-sports fans.

If you can cross the finish line of this show without laughing you probably need to see a doctor.

The final night of The Complete World of Sports (Abridged) at Exeter Northcott is tonight (Wednesday 20 June). Get yourself a ticket and let the games begin…